A film hub was proposed in the Bheemunipatnam Assembly constituency during the Chief Ministerial tenure of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2004. The project was mooted to tap the potential of the scenic beauty, pristine sea beach and lush green hills that would be ideal for the shooting of movies, there by generating employment for the locals.
However, the then Congress government failed to ground the project and same was the case of the subsequent Telugu Desam government and the project is still on the paper.
“We have set up an open air theatre and rest rooms on a private site near Thotlakonda, pending provision of a site by the government,” noted film trainer L. Satyanand, who is a core committee member of the Vizag Film Nagar Cultural Centre (VFNCC), said.
The demand for reopening the Chittivalasa Jute Mills near Tagarapuvalasa, one of the oldest jute mills in the country with a production capacity of 100 tonnes a day, still remains on the paper. The revival of the factory is expected to assume importance in the coming elections, experts say.
The unit that provided direct and indirect employment to 6,000 people from the neighbourhood was locked out on April 20, 2009 under the pretext of reducing shifts from three to two. Later, the management agreed to reopen it once the power situation improved. Though the State achieved surplus power, there is no talk of the jute mill’s reopening, leaving the workers in the dire straits. After coming to power, the TDP had directed the management to reopen the mill at the earliest. However, there have been no initiatives to resume production at the mill.
Keen contest likely
This election, a keen contest is likely on the cards between YSRCP nominee Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, who had served as an MLA from this constituency from 2009 to 2014, and former Mayor Sabbam Hari, whose name was announced by the TDP as the party candidate.